The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corp. will buy $100 million of the so-called blue bonds, the first of its kind in the Philippines.

The Southeast Asian nation is the third-largest contributor to plastic leaking into the ocean, accounting for 0.75 million metric tons annually, the IFC said, citing a World Bank study. At the same time, more than 3 million people in the country rely on unsafe and unsustainable water sources, it said.

“IFC’s investment will be key to helping BDO develop a Blue Finance Framework that will allow us to fund projects that support the country’s blue economy,” BDO Unibank Chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson said in a statement. The deal will also establish a new asset class in the Philippine debt market, she said.

According to bloomberg.com